The Press Secretary to Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Mr. Christian Aburime has described one of the Labour Party’s presidential campaign spokesmen, Mr. Kenneth Okonkwo, as a total disgrace to the campaign team and the entire Igbo race, over what he described as an unwarranted insult against the Governor and his mother, popularly known as Mrs. Mgbafor.
Mr. Okonkwo, a Nollywood actor, had, on Saturday, during his interview on Politics Today on the Channels Television, interpreted Soludo’s mother’s name to mean gossip; described her as a village gossip, and also described Soludo himself as a proud son of a local gossip, which, he said, is the reason behind the Governor’s sobriquet, “Charlie Nwa Mgbafor”.
Mr. Aburime, while reacting to the utterances, said Okonkwo did not only sound cocky and insolent, but also denigrated the office of the Governor, and insulted a woman old enough to be his mother if she were to be alive, just to seek cheap popularity.
While noting that Gov. Soludo and Mr. Peter Obi (Okonkwo’s principal) do not have any personal issues to have necessitated such Okonkwo’s unguided utterances while defending his principal; Aburime warned that the Nollywood actor “should be called to order and brought back to his senses, as he sounded like one who is morally bankrupt.”
He said, “I want to say that Okonkwo’s is a disgrace to spokesmanship, and I sympathise with the Labour Party which left professional image makers in the country and found a local movie actor as a suitable candidate.
“The party should have known that presidential campaign spokesmanship is not a Nollywood role; and they should have done a good background check to ensure that people who speak for them are not morally bankrupt.
“It is sad that Okonkwo does not know that Mgbafor is the name given to a girl born on Afọr Market Day in Igbo land. Why would he insult and disgrace the entire Igbo race by trying to mislead the world that the names that promote their cultural identity mean gossip?
“If he is a true Igbo son, he should have known that ‘Mgbeke’, ‘Mgborie’, ‘Mgbankwo’ and ‘Mgbafor’ are traditional names which only proud Igbo sons and daughters, like Soludo, would promote. What is wrong in saying he is a son of a woman born on an Afọr market day?”
Aburime added that Mr. Okonkwo should apologise to Gov. Soludo and the entire Igbo nation for denigrating their great and cherished language on the altar of exuberant partisanship.
He further noted that Okonkwo even lacks the moral ground to speak for any responsible group, as his major impact in Nollywood is the killing of the values of hard work, industry and respect (which the Igbo man is known for), and the promotion of cultism and money rituals, which he said, are misguided narrative that have bastardised the psyche of the youths and destroyed the social fabric of the society.
“Okonkwo has no moral ground to speak for a group that claims to be supposedly preaching the message of new Nigeria. He is actually part of the problems that government at all levels, including that of Prof. Soludo, are trying to solve.
“Kenneth (Andy) Okonkwo is both a burden and an embarrassment to the Peter Obi campaign organisation and the entire Igbo race.”
Aburime reaffirmed that “the wannabes like Okonkwo cannot distract the government of Prof. Charles Soludo, who remains focused on making Anambra a peaceful, livable and prosperous homeland.”
